


campfire stars in the distance

by potato_writes



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, there are other characters in this but they are once again mere window dressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potato_writes/pseuds/potato_writes
Summary: The fire is Renly’s idea, probably the best one he’s had over the course of their annual camping trip across the Riverlands.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 29
Kudos: 86
Collections: JB Festive Festival Exchange Stocking Stuffers 2020





	campfire stars in the distance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sdwolfpup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sdwolfpup/gifts).



> listen, I cannot be held accountable for the things I do during exam season. besides, when the prompts jump out and grab you by the throat, then you have to write them. that's just how this works. also do not expect me to continue this trend of writing one of these every day. I have to maintain some pretence at sanity, okay?
> 
> title from ghost quartet, in a _shocking_ move on my part. also there is possibly even less substance to this than the last one, but I really don't see how this is a bad thing. this year has been too stressful to waste time worrying about fics being too fluffy.

The fire is Renly’s idea, probably the best one he’s had over the course of their annual camping trip across the Riverlands. 

Dany’s the one to set up the firepit and arrange the logs, after sending Jaime and Sansa out to collect wood, and by the time Jaime dumps his last armful of sticks at the edge of their ring of tents she has flames burning merrily in the middle of a ring of stones, leaping and flaring as the logs crackle and everyone gathers around, pulling over logs or stumps or the chairs Margaery had brought for precisely this reason.

Brienne’s saved him a spot on a log just far enough from the flames to avoid smoke blowing into their faces, and she smiles up at him as he bounds over to sit next to her, pressing his lips to her cheek in thanks and sending Arianne’s and Addam’s brows skyrocketing. 

He and Brienne have been dating for almost a year now, and have spent most of that time locked in a battle of wills between their friends to see who’s going to crack first. He wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn they’ve known the whole time, but he also _really_ enjoys how Renly’s voice goes up at least two octaves every time Jaime blatantly denies his feelings for Brienne. None of them have actively challenged him on it yet, which is a bit disappointing, but considering how he spent all of university and a solid ten years after refusing to even consider the possibility he might feel more than friendship for her, it’s not all that surprising.

Now, however, he’s nearing forty and all the more self-aware for it—lucky for him, or he and Brienne might never have gotten to this point. Their group has changed a great deal since the first time they did this, fresh out of undergrad and eager to take on the world. They’re older and—theoretically—wiser, with steady jobs for the most part and lives that have taken them far and wide. But they’ve remained friends throughout it all, and they still come to the Riverlands every year to spend two weeks wandering the forests together, laughing and sharing stories and delighting in the physical presence of all their friends in the same place.

It’s cold once the sun goes down, and Jaime’s tempted to move closer to the fire, smoke be damned, but that would mean leaving Brienne behind on their shared log, so he simply burrows into her side and does his best to pretend he’s not shivering. Margaery sends him a pointed look from where she’s listening to Asha regale them with stories from her sailing days, and he tosses his head with a huff and looks away.

Brienne stands abruptly, and he glances up at her with a furrowed brow, but she only heads over to her pack and unearths a blanket from deep within before returning to her seat at his side and draping it over both their shoulders with another soft smile. As soon as she sits, he returns to leaning against her, slipping an arm around her waist while she wraps hers around his shoulders. 

They’ve done this a hundred times by now—on the couches in both their apartments, sitting on the floor across from Addam and Dany when the four of them meet up for game night, in restaurant booths, and now by the fireside—but it’s no less delightful for the familiarity of it. He’d spend his entire life pressed up against Brienne’s side if he could, staring into the dancing flames and laughing along with the rest of their friends as Sansa reenacts a prank she played on her siblings. 

High above their heads, the sky fills with stars, glittering as clear and bright as Brienne’s eyes as she grins and chats with Arianne. The crescent moon glows white and cold against the dark curtain of the sky, its light painting the trees as dark silhouettes around them. In the middle of their circle, Dany tosses another log on the fire, burning red-hot and illuminating their faces as they continue to talk late into the night.

And on a log a few paces back from the fire, under a cloudless night sky, tucked beneath a blanket and an arm around his shoulders, Jaime rests his head against Brienne’s shoulder and smiles, content with the world and his place within it.

**Author's Note:**

> I believe this fulfills the prompt/vibe of "Together by the fire". also my timeline in this may be suspect but timelines are both my fatal weakness and really not necessary anyways. life is too short to stress over timelines.


End file.
